


It's Not That Common, It Doesn't Happen to Every Guy, and It Is a Big Deal!

by Literally_No_One_Cares



Series: Actually, It's More Common Than You'd Think [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (but very casual negotiation? You'll see), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon-typical swearing, Chowder hcs!, Dex hcs!, F/M, I crammed so many headcanons into this, M/M, Memtioned islamophobia, Mentioned Racism, Multi, Nursey hcs!, Platonic Soulmates, Polyamory Negotiations, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, This is ridiculous, mentioned transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Literally_No_One_Cares/pseuds/Literally_No_One_Cares
Summary: Samwell is a place where one in four people meet their soulmate. They may have left out the part where four people are all each other's soulmates.(Everyone has the first words that their soulmate will say to them somewhere on their body)





	

**Author's Note:**

> So many goddamn headcanons. this was really just an excuse to write down all of my headcanons about Dex in one place. Chowder and Nursey got some love too, but I have more hcs for both of them that didn't make it into this fic.
> 
> Fun drinking game: every time someone is surprised/caught off guard, repressing shit, pining, or says the words bag of dicks, take a shot

Chris knows when he's very young that he'll have to leave home eventually. He loves his family, he loves his home, and he loves the Sharks, but his words seem to imply that his soulmate will meet him somewhere that isn't California.

Not that that's a bad thing. Chris has always been and will always be excited to go new places, try new things, and meet new people.

He'll miss his parents, he'll miss his little sister, and he'll miss their dog, but getting a soulmate out of it sounds like a very fair tradeoff to him. Plus, his soulmate might even be from California, as well! They just meet somewhere else. Like at college. One look at the hockey team, and Chris chooses Samwell. It was destiny, after his parents met there, and he skated for the first time there. He hopes his soulmate picks Samwell too.

* * *

Since Will’s words showed up, he's had his college decided for him. His backwards, homophobic grandparents had turned their noses up at the word ‘Samwell’ on his skin. His parents had said ‘ _Liam, that's a good school. Don't know how we're going to afford it._ ’ And with that, he started researching. Academic scholarships. Sports scholarships. Scholarships for volunteer community outreach hours. Scholarships for kids from low income areas. Scholarships for LGBT youth and allies.

Will manages to get all the scholarships he could. He works like crazy and saves every penny. He plays hockey like his life depends on it.

When he gets to Samwell, he feels like it's well earned, like he deserves to be there. He was worried it would feel like an obligation, because of his words, but it doesn't. It feels like he belongs there, and he clawed his way to this school and this hockey team.

* * *

Caitlin’s not enthusiastic about her words. You wouldn't be either, if they basically said that your soulmate was going to physically hurt you.

So far, three people have said things that were pretty close, but not one of them has been exact, and she didn't say their words back. She looks at colleges and sees that one in four students at Samwell meet their soulmate there. It's a no brainer. She'll go to Samwell, get injured, and bam. Soulmate.

It doesn't hurt that they've got a killer volleyball team.

* * *

Derek’s words scare him. He's scared that his soulmate won't be mutual, somehow. He knows that's not a thing, and yet deep down in his soul he still feels it. So he works on feeling nothing, for a while. Really though. Someone telling him that they've already heard their words isn't encouraging.

He gets through high school on his fake chill and determination. When it comes time to pick a school for after that, Samwell is at the top of his list. LGBT friendly, good hockey team, great English program.

He parents are proud of his choice. His mom’s an alum, as are many of her business partners. They’ve all talked the school up to her, so of course she's ecstatic about her son going there.

He's not sure about the whole ‘one in four’ thing, though. He doesn't want to meet a soulmate who's already taken.

He goes anyway.

* * *

At freshman orientation, a group of people from the SMH take over as tour guides for Will and a few other guys. There’s a tiny blond that he and a few other guys mistake as a manager, the actual manager, and a man with a ‘70s porno-stache. From the rink, they take them to the team’s house--no, Haus.

There still aren't any final decisions made, but at least some of the guys in this group will be this year's freshmen on the hockey team, which he has been told by a very large man with glasses are called ‘frogs.’

Speaking of that very large man, his words are proudly on display on his arm, ‘Bro, are you as stoked as I am to be d-man partners?’ and a guy walking next to him has a matching ‘Hell yeah, bro!’

Will smiles. They met on the ice. Maybe his soulmate plays hockey too?

He falls in line next to a dude with eyebrows for miles and decked out head to toe in Sharks memorabilia. His eyes are dark but somehow also wide and bright, and he's got a permanent smile on his face. At Faber, he had pressed his face to the glass.

“I’m guessing you're from California?” Will says as a means of breaking the ice.

The boy stills, looks at Will, and smiles wider. “Chyeah! Aren't you just super excited to be at Samwell?”

Will stops dead in his tracks. “Dude,” he whispers, pulling at the bottom of his shirt with one hand and the waistband of his jeans with the other to expose the words on his hip.

“Oh! Oh my gosh I--mine are on the bottom of my foot, hang on,” the guy babbles, hopping up and down and pulling at his shoe. He's not paying much attention, and bumps into the most hipster human being Will has ever laid eyes on.

Hipster dude topples over. He doesn't seem mad, though. He takes in Will’s soulmates appearance and laughs. “I'm guessing you're from California?” He looks at Will, who's scowling. “Chyeah. Aren't you just _super_ excited to be at Samwell?”

Will and his soulmate both go slack jawed. “You're not the first person to say that to me today,” they say at the same time.

“Fuck,” hipster dude gasps. Will thinks he's going to pass out. “What the fuck.”

“Hey! Quit lagging behind!” one of the guys from the team barks. Will thinks he remembers the guy being introduced as captain.

“Sorry!” Will’s first soulmate apologizes immediately. “We said each other’s words so I was kind of freaking out! I've heard of multiple soulmates before, I mean, I have two dads and a mom, so obviously I've heard of it. I just didn't think it would happen to me!! Oh gosh, I didn't even ask you guys what your names are! My name is Chris.”

“I'm Will,” he says, extending a hand to help up hipster dude.

“Derek,” hipster dude mumbles. “What the fuck?”

“I know man, I'm just as confused as you are,” Will assures him.

The ridiculously huge guy and his soulmate bound over to the three befuddled soulmates. “Dudes! Congratulations! Me and my bro Ransom here met at our first practice. The coaches and our boy Jack had paired us up and we were both super stoked,” he says.

“Yeah bro. It was ‘swawesome. Holster cried,” the other guy, Ransom(?), tells them.

“Wow! Has anyone else on the team met their soulmate like that?” Chris asks.

“Well that senior bro with the majestic flo and ‘stache combo’s soulmate is our fearless manager Lardo. And our frog year two dudes met mid game, one from our team and one from the opposing team. It was sweet. Like, modern Romeo and Juliet,” Holster, apparently, recounts.

The little dude that Will had mistakenly assumed was the manager approached them. “Hey, y’all. I know I introduced myself earlier, but my name's Eric. The boys all call me Bitty, though. What are y’all’s favorite pies? I want to make something to celebrate meeting your soulmates!”

“Bits is the best baker alive,” Holster informs them. “It's just not fair to be so talented. Amazing baker, amazing dancer, and the fastest forward alive? Unfair.”

Will feels a Spongebob reference in here somewhere.

“If I'm lucky, Mr. Talent will rub his tentacles on me,” Derek says, just as Chris says “The Krusty Krabs is unfair! Mr. Krabs is in there! Standing at the concession! Plotting his oppression!”

Ok, so there were two Spongebob references there.

Bitty and Holster both look absolutely mortified at Derek. “It's from that episode of Spongebob where Squidward teaches an art class?” he says weakly.

Shit. Will is totally in love with these nerds.

* * *

The three of them sit down in Chris’s dorm to talk things out. They need to get to know each other, and they need to figure out if they're platonic or romantic soulmates.

“This is crazy,” Will blurts out, sitting on the edge of Chris’s bed. Chris takes the desk chair, and Derek sprawls out on the floor. Will offers him the bed, but he mumbles something about aesthetic. “I'm not the only one who thinks that, right?”

“Yeah. I didn't see this coming,” Derek agrees. Is voice is smooth, level. He's Chris’s polar opposite in that respect, Chris thinks. He knows he's excitable and loud sometimes. Will seems like he's probably a little less than mellow, too.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Will asks, brow furrowed. Uh oh. Chris knows angry when he sees it.

“Dude, chill,” Derek dismisses, and oooooh no.

“What the fuck man, don't tell me to chill,” Will hisses. “This is a weird situation and I don't think it's normal to be _chill_ right now.”

“Hey, hey, guys. Will, you're right. This is different. Not everyone comes from my type of family, so I understand this being weird for you. But! People all express their emotions differently. Some people don't get as excited as others. We really just need to talk things out, ok?” Chris intervenes.

“Whatever,” Will huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and rolling his eyes. “So is it platonic or romantic? I know what I feel, from meeting you guys, but I can't really...like, decide for you?”

“Oh! That's right!” Chris says. “I know we just met but I really like you guys and I could totally see us in a relationship some day but right now we can just be friends? If that's ok with you.”

Will frowns, but doesn't protest. “That's chill,” Derek says. Chris hopes that's a good thing? It's hard to tell with Derek.

“Um. Ok,” Will mumbles. Is this not what he wanted?

“Why are you so weird about this? Do you have a problem with your soulmates being dudes?” Derek accuses.

“Don't put words in my mouth,” Will spits. “You don't know anything about me.”

“Typical,” Derek says, shaking his head. “You're just another privileged white kid who’s too good for--”

“Privileged? _Privileged?_ My family is low income, I'm the first kid to go to college in four generations just because of my stupid words that you just _had_ to say. I've spent years of my life working my ass off on a stupid lobster boat--hell, the jeans you're wearing cost more than my entire closet. Fucking privilege? Really?”

Oh boy.

* * *

He's changed his mind. Will does not, will not, cannot ever love Derek Nurse. Yeah, he's literally the most attractive being on the planet, and he was kind of cute earlier, but holy shit, he's pretentious. And demeaning. And a giant bag of dicks.

“Yo, Poindexter, chill,” he says, and oh man does Will just want to   ~~kiss~~ punch that stupid look off his face.

“What does that even MEAN?” Will asks.

“You don't have to deflect like this. I get it. Obviously you're uncomfortable with having dudes as your soulmates and the possibility of it turning romantic,” Derek persists.

“Oh my GOD you could not be more wrong,” Will groans. “Just because _you're_ a douche doesn't mean I'm a homophobe.”

“Guys!” Chris interjects, “I don't think it’s a good idea to make assumptions about people you just met. Why don't we try talking about ourselves? You know, a better introduction so that we can get to know each other better and understand where each one of us is coming from? I can go first!”

Will doesn't say anything. He doesn't feel like he has to, and Derek doesn't say anything either.

“Ok! So! I said before that I have two dads and a mom. I also have an amazing little sister! And I’m from San Francisco. My mom is Chinese and that's a big part of our lives but I don't know like, more than two words in Chinese. But I want to take classes!!! Oh, and speaking of classes, I love computers and I want to take programming classes here at Samwell. I like cats and dogs, and I want my braces off, they drive me crazy. And my favorite team is the Sharks, if you couldn't tell. But you probably could!”

Will looks at Derek, and then at Chris. “I'll go next? Uh. I'm from Maine. I've had to work a lot. My uncle has a lobster boat so I've spent a lot of time doing that, and my other uncle is a repairman so during the school year I used go to his shop after school and help. So I can fix a lot of things. Oh, and Chris, we’re probably going to take a lot of classes together.”

“Do I have to?” Derek mumbles. Chris gives him a sharp glance.

“I'm from Manhattan. Both of my parents work a lot, so when I was little I spent a lot of time with a nanny. She's like, an extra mom to me. I went to Andover, uh, I actually know one of the seniors from there. His name's...well, you met him on the tour. People usually call him Shitty. I didn't really have a lot of friends there? But Shits is cool. I was born on Valentine's Day, so I get I tons of chocolate on my birthday.”

 _You’re rich enough to go to Andover and **I'm** privileged? _ Will desperately wants to say it out loud, but he holds it in for fear of upsetting Chris. He still thinks that he could fall in love with Chris so easily, that he practically already has.

Why did the universe have to stick him with Derek Nurse, too?

Who knows. Maybe he and Chris are romantic soulmates and Derek is going to be their awkward third wheel platonic soulmate. Or maybe Chris and Will are romantic, and Chris and Derek are romantic, but Will and Derek aren't.

* * *

It’s well into November when Shitty decides that they're going to have a race. A piggyback race? Chris (he's Chowder now!!!!) is still confused about it. He jumps on Dex’s back anyway, leaving Bitty to be Nursey’s piggyback-passenger.

Shitty is officiating, not participating. Dex is pulling them into the lead, and Chowder’s sure his enthusiastic cheering helps. Somehow. Maybe it's a soulmate thing?

The tiny kiss he'd pressed to Dex’s neck right before they started probably helped too.

But Chowder distracted him too much, and they ended up crashing into half the women’s volleyball team. Chris landed in a pile of leaves--on top of one of the girls.

“Oh my gosh!! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!! Are you ok??? I'm so sorry!!!!”

As Chris scrambled off the volleyball player, she stared up at him dumbly. Oh no! Had she hit her head on the ground? Had Chowder gIVEN THE POOR GIRL A HEAD INJURY?

“I'm guessing you're from California?” she manages to say.

Dex freezes next to Chowder. He had been brushing leaves off himself, but he he'd gone paler than usual. “What? Did I say something? Oh, were those your words?”

“Yeah! But really, are you ok? You didn't hit your head, did you?” Chris asks. “Oh! This is one of my other soulmates, Dex! And my name is Chris, but everybody calls me Chowder!”

She eyes Dex as she stands. “Wow. You've got more than one soulmate? That's pretty rare. Caitlin Farmer. People usually just call me Farmer,” she introduces herself.

“Yeah!! Our other soulmate was the one we were racing!! He's right over--hey, where did Nursey and Bitty go? Shitty, have you seen Nursey?”

Shitty jogs over to the three of them. “One of the girls may have a concussion so Nursey offered to help Bitty get her to the student medical center. If it's bad, they might take her off campus to the hospital.”

“Wait your name is Shitty?” Farmer questions. “Hockey players are something else. Not that that's a bad thing! I uh, I just. Wow. This isn't really what I expected meeting my soulmate to be, you know?”

“You're not the first soulmate I've fallen on!” Chris laughs. “When I met Dex, I got super excited and tried to take off my shoe to show him my words on the bottom of my foot, but I ended up falling on Nursey! And then he said my words too, and Dex’s! And we said his.”

“Ok but at least you didn't spill booze on your soulmate while half naked,” Shitty inputs. Farmer looks mortified. “Sophomore year was a dark time.”

Chris had heard the story before. A friend of a friend had invited Lardo to the first kegester of the semester, and by the end she walked out manager of the SMH and covered in tub juice. The ‘dark time’ Shitty is referring to is a time when he didn't get completely naked at parties. Which isn't such a terrible thing if you ask literally anyone else.

Shitty displays his words proudly by pulling up his shirt. ‘What the fuck WHAT THE FUCK’ lays across his chest in pretty, curly script.

“That must have been fun for your parents to explain to you when it showed up,” Farmer snorts. An alarm buzzes on her phone. “Shit. I've got class--I want to meet up with you later? Maybe Annie's? Both of you. And bring your other soulmate too?”

Chris nods. “I'll let him know to meet us there! Actually, me and Dex have class together right now!”

“Cool,” Farmer grins, leans forward and presses a kiss to Chris’s cheek, and rushes off to her lecture.

* * *

Derek’s phone buzzes in the waiting room at the medical center.

_Hey so something really amazing happened today!! I want to tell you in person, can you meet me and Dex at Annie’s?_

“All right, April. Your head’s fine. Just a little bump, and I know it shook you up, but you're good to go. Come back if you have a headache tomorrow.”

Nursey lets Chowder know he'll be there and stands to walk out with the volleyball player they’d injured. Bitty smiles at her and chatters away, and Nursey nods like he's listening, but he's a million miles away. Whatever Chowder wanted to tell him had to be important for him to want to do it in person.

He stays in his head for a while, so that's probably why he trips on the way into Annie's later. He flails, tries to catch himself, but ultimately ends up knocking into a girl who's in line.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you ok? I'm so sorry,” Nursey apologizes.

The girl pales, and then laughs. “You're not the first person to say that to me today.”

“What the fuck,” Derek stutters (whoa deja vu), “I just--did I just say--and you said--but that means that--”

And then Dex is there, chirpy grin plastered across his face. “Yo, chill, Nurse,” he says smugly. “This is Chowder’s big news. He met yet another soulmate.”

Chowder bounces over to them as well. “Which is totally ‘swawesome! I wasn't expecting you and Farmer to be soulmates too!! Wow, I guess it's just Dex who’s not Farmer’s soulmate, then. But that's ok! Maybe Dex has another soulmate too!! But if he doesn't that's ok too because he already has you and me and that's already more than most people have.”

Something is different though. It's different, when Derek sees this girl. It's like there's a big sign above her head that says ‘shaped like a friend.’ He feels like he could spend his life with her, but he doesn't want to date her. Which is a lot different than how he feels when he sees Dex and Chowder.

“Cool,” Derek manages.

* * *

Farmer learns very quickly that she and Nursey are platonic soulmates (they tried making out once and it was kind of hilarious). They have an easy connection, and they both love Chowder to death, but they don't love each other the way they love Chowder.

Gosh, she loves Chowder. Chris Chow is pretty much everything she's ever wanted. He's sweet, he’s caring, and he’s athletic. Caitlin, a JockTM, can't date non-jocks. It just wouldn't work.

Derek Nurse is everything she could want in a best friend. Super chill, super thoughtful, and perfectly capable of sitting in silence while scrolling on their respective phones. He even lets her put winged eyeliner on him! After which he takes the eyeliner and tells her to hold still, and gives her the prettiest cat eye she's ever seen in three seconds flat. She's in friend love with him for sure when that happens.

She likes Dex too. He's a bit more on the sensitive side. All three of her boys are, but not in the same way.

Chowder’s an emotional guy. He shows all of his feelings with equal intensity. Nursey’s all about internalizing and repressing. He vents through poetry, of course, though Farmer thinks that might not be enough. They both have defense mechanisms, that she picks up easily; Chris acts super innocent, angelic, and happy to throw people off the trail, and Derek shows no emotion so that people think they can't hurt him.

Dex, though. At first, Caitlin thinks, he seems to have anger issues. After only a few weeks of knowing him, however, she has him pegged. Dex is a hurt-first-so-I-don’t-get-hurt kind of guy.

If he strikes first, he gets the upper hand. If he strikes first, he can save himself the trouble of getting too close. If he strikes first, he won't have to deal with his feelings for Nursey.

Yeah, Caitlin can see that, too. They're soulmates, they obviously love each other. When she asks Chris about it, he tells her that the first day they met they started fighting and never stopped. When she points out their defense mechanisms, Chris wholeheartedly agrees. When she asks what they should do, he insists that they work it out on their own. He tells her he tried to talk to Bitty (who’s like a mother to the four of them) about it but it just made things worse.

Farmer wants all her boys to be happy, but decides to leave it up to Dex and Nursey to work things out.

* * *

He kisses Chowder. He kissses Chowder, in Chowder’s dorm, and Chowder kisses back.

Dex couldn't be more ecstatic.

The day they met Farmer, Chris had been giving him signals. They flirted like crazy, there was that tiny peck on the back of the neck Chowder had given him, and Chowder picking him first for the race. After they crashed into Cait, however, it had all been kind of pushed back. Dex felt like he needed to get Chowder’s attention.

Maybe kissing him isn't the best way, but it works. Chris pulls back with stars in his eyes (which isn't that abnormal) and a flushed face, so Dex is counting it as a win.

“Oh,” Chris says quietly. “Um, did that really happen?”

Dex snorts. “I can do it again if you need proof,” he offers. “It happened.”

“Wow. Uh, yeah, I’d like for it to happen again. I was starting to think maybe you wanted to just stay friends? But you got kind of flirty and then stopped, so I didn't know what to think. Caitlin's going to be so happy, oh, wait until she finds out! She's been so worried that you weren't happy, she keeps--”

And Dex kisses him again. And again. And again.

“Wait, what was that about Farmer worrying about me?”

Chowder frowns. Dex is pretty sure it's just because he's not kissing him anymore. “She says you pick fights on purpose to keep _certain people_ at arm's length, and it's been keeping you from being happy.”

Now Dex is frowning too. “I don't--” Chowder gives him a very pointed look. “Ok, maybe I do. Look, if this is about Nurse, it's not happening. We don't understand each other, and we never will. We come from places that are too different.”

“But you're soulmates! Doesn't that mean anything?” Chris asks.

“It does. And I'll try to be around him for your sake. It just doesn't seem to be enough,” Dex tells him.

“I think you guys would get along a lot better if you--both of you--would try. Some people have to wait a long time for their soulmate, and most people only have one. Don't you think you should be happy about meeting us so early in our lives?” Chowder implores. He's so earnest, it's hard for Dex to disagree with him.

“Can you tell him that? He acts like he doesn't give a shit about anything. Maybe if he actually cared about me I would be nice,” Dex laughs hollowly.

“Dex, you know that's just how Nursey is. He wants to make people think he doesn't care so no one can touch him.”

“He should be able to talk to his soulmates! Like, open up or something! If he would just tell me about himself instead of saying what he thinks he knows about me, things would be easier,” Dex huffs. He's bordering on angry, and he knows he needs to control himself, but it's getting tough. “I'd be willing to listen, too. God, C, it's ridiculous. I don't want to hear him say I somehow have it better than him, I want him to tell me what's wrong.”

Chowder is...shook. Dex shifts in his spot on Chris’s bed uncomfortably, but Chowder brings their foreheads together and smiles softly.

“Dex, that's actually really sweet. You care about Nursey more than you let people see, huh?” he whispers. “Maybe we can get Nursey to be more comfortable with us so he'll open up, ok?”

 _I love you_ , Dex thinks. _I love you, I love how much you love him, and I think I love him too_. “How?” is what he actually says.

“I don't know yet, but we’ll think of something! And I know Caitlin can help. She and Nursey get along really well, I mean obviously, they're soulmates too. But their bond is platonic. Anyway! She talks to him all the time! I think they're at Annie’s together right now. Oh my god Dex we have homework we're supposed to be studying!!!”

Dex looks down at the laptops they were ignoring. “Oh, yeah. Homework.”

* * *

Farmer plays with the little liftable flap on the lid to her chai latte. She takes a sip; it always throws her off just a little bit that something can taste the way that flowers smell. Derek is sitting across from her with his ultra-complicated, ultra-pretentious drink that she couldn't remember if she tried, looking down at his phone for a second.

“Have I ever told you how my parents met?” she asks, out of nowhere, just because she can.

“No, but it can't be worse than you and me or you and Chris,” Nursey says. “I bet your dad didn't mow down your mom in a coffee shop.”

She barks out at short laugh. “Oh, no. My dad was working at this little grocery store, and he's stocking a shelf when this girl runs up to him and yells ‘WHERE’S THE BATHROOM?’ And he forgets that those are his words, so he just says ‘Near the frozen food section.’ And she yells thanks and keeps running. He had to chase her down in the parking lot.”

“Ok, so that's less than romantic,” Nursey agrees. “My parents had like, this beautiful fairytale meeting.”

Caitlin waits for him to say more. “My mom never really put much thought into soulmates. She didn't want someone that was perfect for her, she wanted to build a relationship over time on her own terms. She met my dad in college and he had the same view, so they started dating. They moved to New York together, which was fine, until she was pregnant and he met his soulmate and decided to leave.

“So now she's alone in Manhattan and pregnant with that asshole’s kid. She was walking out of her apartment building to go to a job interview--with a company she's now the CEO of, by the way--when she walks right into this other lady. It's snowing, and she's super pregnant, and he didn't even think about how it wasn't really her fault because the lady was on the phone. She starts apologizing, tells her ‘I wasn't watching where I was going, I'm so sorry.’ And the lady cups her face and says ‘I've finally found you, habibi.’ I've heard the story a thousand times. Oh, and then I was born at some point in there.”

Farmer’s floored. She’s never heard Derek talk about his dad before, so hearing it now is jarring. He seems to hate him. Derek’s not one for showing a lot of emotion. This is news.

“That's really sweet,” Farmer tells him. “And your mom, she believes in soulmates now?”

“After she met Mama, she knew that their bond was worth so much more than anything she could have had with my dad,” Nursey explains. “I was kind of worried my soulmate wouldn't want me, based off of my words. Mama said you never know, but I'm still not sure that any of this is real.”

Whoa. Get Derek Nurse to talk about his moms and suddenly he's an open book. Farmer needs to remember this for later.

“It's real. I promise. But I'm pretty sure we’d still be friends even if we didn't have a soulbond,” she assures him. “I'm in friend love with you.”

“Aw, I very platonically love you too,” Derek snorts.

“Ok enough mushy shit, I need your help on this stupid essay. I'm not doing so great in my Brit Lit class. I thought it would be easy, reading books I had to read in high school, but I literally can't stand _Wuthering Heights_. Heathcliff is a big bag of dicks.”

* * *

When their break for the holidays comes, Chowder and Farmer both go home. They live in California (in different cities, but they're about and hour and a half away from each other). They'll be able to meet each other's family this year. Dex doesn't go home until New Year's Eve because he's afraid of talking to unnamed family members that are visiting for Christmas about his soulmates. Derek doesn't ask who.

Derek himself doesn't go home because there won't be anyone there. His parents are in...he doesn't actually remember where they went this year. And there's no way in in hell he’s going to see his dad.

The rest of the SMH are gone as well. Jack’s in Montreal, Bitty’s in Madison, Shitty’s only in Boston but he's still not at the Haus. Lardo went with him, of course, and Ransom and Holster are spending Chanukah with Holster’s family and Christmas with Ransom’s. Even Ollie and Wicks are gone. A few guys on the team who don't live in the Haus and don’t really hang out with the guys are staying, but since they don’t interact with the team much, Derek won't be seeing them anyway.

Bitty offers to let Nursey and Dex stay in the Haus while everyone is gone. He says that there’s plenty of food in the fridge, and that both Jack and Shitty have said they could use their rooms in addition to Bitty’s, so no one has to sleep on the Couch.

For some reason, probably because he's an idiot, Nursey agrees. He says he and Dex can dig out Christmas decorations from the basement and celebrate since no one else is there to celebrate with them.

Bitty, of course, is over the moon at the suggestion. He pulls out the decorations early and shows them everything they have, and since Bitty is so excited, Dex has to agree to staying in the Haus with Nursey. He feels a little guilty about it, like he trapped Dex here with him.

After everyone else is gone, Dex gets to work. He starts with lights, stringing them on the roof almost completely by himself--all Nursey has to do is hold the ladder.

After the roof is done, they put out the inflatable Santa that Ransom and Holster had bought one year, despite Holster not celebrating Christmas. There's a hole in it that Dex ends up covering in red duct tape. There's also a set of light up reindeer that someone (Lardo) has tediously replaced every single bulb on so that they're rainbow colors instead of their original white. Dex isn't sure about putting them out but Derek begs, and he's not Chowder or Bitty but Dex still couldn't say no.

Inside, they put on Mariah Carey, make some hot chocolate, and set up the four foot, white artificial tree. The decorations are mostly blue, silver, and gold, courtesy of Shitty insisting that it can't be a Christmas Tree but instead a ‘non-denominational holiday tree.’ There's a Star of David for the top, and dreidel shaped ornaments, along with gaudy tinsel and some handmade paper decorations. Each one has a name on it, made by hockey players past and present.

There's a set of reindeer that are cut outs of different sized hands, with Johnson, Cohen, Berger, and Marsh written on them. There are trees made of popsicle sticks and sequins with Einhardt, Wagner, Ransom, Holster, and B. S. Knight on their short popsicle trunks.

Nursey’s favorites are stocking shaped cut outs that have been decorated with crayon, made by Bitty, Wicks, Ollie, Shitty, Ransom and Holster (yes, they shared a paper stocking ornament), Lardo, and Jack. It's the only thing on the tree that Jack had a hand in, and he likes the colors Bitty chose.

“We need to make something to put on here,” he says to Dex as he winds a string of blue lights around the middle section of the tree. “Everybody else has something on here. It's too bad Chowder’s not here to make something, too.”

“What do you have in mind?” Dex asks, completely calm and reasonable. Which is...nice. Derek thinks he likes trying to get along with Dex.

“Maybe we could do pipe cleaner candy canes? We could put beads on them, and tags with our names. They probably have everything we'd need at Walmart,” Derek suggests.

“How are we going to get there? It's not like the Murder Stop n Shop, it's not walking distance,” Dex questions. It's not hostile, like it could be, but Derek treads lightly anyway.

“I have a car. My parents bought it for my eighteenth birthday, to bring with me to school. I don't usually drive it because there's no reason to, but we could get to town and back,” he says.

“Your parents just bought you a car?” Dex asks, like it's a foreign concept, and Nursey can feel that they're on the verge of a fight.

“It's nothing special. It's used, and didn't even have FM radio when they bought it. They put in a new radio though. They knew I wouldn't really want some brand new sports car,” he tells Dex.

“God, if they bought you a car for your birthday, what was Christmas like?”

Derek stills. He doesn't think that Dex wants to hear him complain about how he never celebrated Christmas as a child.

“They didn't. We never really did Christmas. My mama is Muslim, and Mom was never religious. My dad celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa, and he sends me something small. I got presents from friends, and a couple teachers. But we didn't ever have a tree or decorate at all.”

Dex frowns. “No wonder you're so terrible at putting lights on a tree,” he says, seriously.

“I thought I was doing a pretty good job!” Derek protests. He's gotten down to the bottom layer, and it looks pretty good to him. Dex grins. “That was a chirp. Damn it. I fell for that!”

“Is that why you want to make ornaments? Because you never got to as a kid?” Dex asks softly. It catches Nursey off guard, because Dex doesn't _do_ soft. He's all sharp edges and harsh words.

“I guess. But that's super depressing and shit. What was December like in your family?” Derek very obviously diverts.

“Well, I'm one of seven, so Christmas was definitely something. My oldest brother, Jeremy, was married with kids by the time I was born, so it's always been the seven kids, Jer’s wife, and my nieces and nephews. And there are seven of them, too,” Dex recounts. He's got a small smile on his face. “My parents are fosters, so I was adopted when I was twelve. My sister Shannon was too. We're twins. But anyway, Jeremy and Matt are biological siblings, and so are Lonnie and Kayleigh, but Linda was an only child.

“Anyway, everyone always got socks, underwear, apples, oranges, and candy in their stocking. And Jeremy and his wife, Dove, always got everyone really great presents. Everybody got one thing from our parents and one thing from Jeremy, and then eventually one thing from Matt, and one thing from Linda. I guess if I go next year I'll have to get everyone something too.”

“That's a lot of presents to have to find,” Derek says dumbly.

“Yeah, but it's pretty easy. I mean, Jeremy and Dove get like, candles and shit, Matt likes football so he's easy, Linda will love you forever if you get her something for her cats, and Lonnie’s obsessed with Gerard Way so just get her something from Hot Topic and you're done. Kay’s a little harder, since she's not sure if she's done with Barbies yet or not, but she likes Nintendo games.”

“It sounds like you've helped your parents with Christmas shopping a lot.”

Dex nods. “No one else wanted to drive an hour to the mall. And those are my dad’s exact words, by the way, about Jer and Dove. Candles and shit.”

Satisfied with the lights, Derek sits down and grabs a mug of cocoa off the coffee table that he’s pretty sure is his. “So are all of your siblings adopted?”

“Yeah,” Dex says, sitting next to him. He picks up the mug that Derek didn’t, so it was probably the right one. “Kay doesn't know it yet, but they're surprising her with the papers Christmas Day. And a 3DS. Lonnie overheard Dad on the phone with the lawyer so she already knows.”

“That's sweet. Are we going to put the ornaments on or wait until we have all of them?” Derek asks. “You know, if we're going to make something.”

“I guess we can run to Walmart and then finish the tree later.”

* * *

They walk to the dorms, where Nursey’s car is parked, and Dex is only a little pissed off.

“Nurse. That's not a used car, that's a fucking vintage car. There's a difference,” he growls. It's a VW Type 1, with the semi-automatic stamp and everything. “What year is it?”

“’69,” Nursey mumbles.

Unbelievable. This car is beautiful. Dex is jealous. He and Shannon share a beat up old pickup truck back home, and Nurse has this beautiful little bug. “You're so ridiculous.”

“Can we just go to Walmart?” he whines. “And maybe not make a big deal out my car?”

Will considers his options. They're getting along well, which is something they don't do, and Nursey was opening up to him, which is something else that doesn't normally happen. So he can be a whiny bitch and mess this up, or he can drop the whole car thing and continue getting along with someone who’s supposed to be his soulmate.

“So are we making red and white candy canes or can we do different colors?”

(When the SMH return to the Haus in January, there are matching blue and purple candy canes hanging on the branches of the tree.)

* * *

Summer of 2015 is hard. Dex goes home to Main, Nursey is in Manhattan, Farmer’s in Sacramento, and Chris is stuck in San Francisco alone.

So, he's not aaaall alone. His mom is here, his dad and his baba are here, and his sister, May (and the dog). Her soulmark has just appeared, and she's so excited. And Chris is...jealous. She gets to anticipate finding her soulmate, and that could happen at any time, while Chris’s soulmates are all so far away. It's dumb, he knows, but he can't help it. She doesn't have to experience this awful _pull_ , this feeling deep inside that wants him somewhere else.

He ignores it as much as he can. He puts on a big smile and tells his family about how much he loves his soulmates and how he can't wait for them to meet Dex and Nursey.

They already met Farmer over Christmas, of course. And she's going to hang out with him as much as possible over the summer.

It's just not the same without Dex and Nursey. Chowder and Dex have been officially dating for seven months; he and Nursey have yet to DTR. He feels like he should have said something at some point in the school year. He doesn't know why he didn't, but here he is. Moping about it. He misses them both like crazy, Nursey doesn't know how he feels, and he's moody.

The four of them have a regular Skype call once a week, at five in Chowder’s time zone. And they have a group chat that’s mostly memes.

Sometimes, Farmer comes to Chowder’s house for their call. She sits next to him and holds his hand, and tells him it's alright to miss people and to let others know how you feel. He laughs. He says he's not Nursey, he's not repressing things. Then his computer screen lights up and he hits accept, and that's that. She'll have to say something about it later.

He kind of _is_ repressing things though? He tries not to think about it too much.

The summer feels too long for Chris. California isn't home anymore. Home is wherever he can be that Farmer, Nursey, and Dex can also be. He just wants to go home.

* * *

When they finally come back, for their first semester as sophomores, things have shifted. Jack and Shitty are gone, Bitty’s different, and there are new Frogs--they're getting called Tadpoles--who are learning the strange ways of the SMH. Ransom, Holster, and Lardo will graduate this year. Things are tense.

It's not too far into the year when Derek shows up for breakfast at the Haus and something feels even more off.

When he gets there, Jack and Shitty are both there. Everyone in the Haus is awake, and in the kitchen. Dex is there already, hair ruffled and looking like he just woke up.

Oh. He must have spent the night with Chowder.

He doesn't dwell on why that hurts. Instead, he looks Dex over again. He's wearing a blue shirt that fits a lot better than some of his clothes have in the past. He looks...happy, maybe actually almost calm for once.

Chowder comes up behind him and buries his face in Dex’s shoulder, and Dex leans into it. They sit at the table together, waiting patiently for breakfast and holding hands under the table.

Derek balances himself on the door way and stays there until there's food.

Ransom and Holster are talking animatedly at the table about _something_. It's hard to tell what it is, and way too early for that much enthusiasm about anything. He could see that kind of energy from Chowder first thing in the morning, but not Ransom and Holster.

Shitty and Lardo are hovering near the fridge. They also seem to be talking about whatever it is that has the co captains so awake, but they're much more low key about it.

Jack is helping Bitty with pancakes, which is definitely new. He knows Jack and Bitty took some weird food history class together and made pie for a project, but Derek hasn't personally seen Jack do anything in the kitchen, like, ever. If Jack and Bitty are maybe a little closer together than normal, he doesn't notice.

Except he does. Did they hook up or something? It's chill. He won't say anything. But he can definitely see that something has shifted.

“Chowder, Dex, Nursey,” Bitty addresses them, “could you boys all go to the living room after breakfast? I've got something I want to talk to you about.”

Shit. Is this another attempt to get him and Dex to play nice? He thought they were doing pretty well this year, he thought maybe things might actually work out between them. But obviously either Chowder or Dex himself went to Bitty about it so they weren't doing as well as he thought.

Derek eats uncharacteristically fast. He knows Chowder and Dex are looking at him, but he wants to get this over with.

“Jacky, Jacky boy, Jacques, it has been too long my bro, fucking light of my life,” Shitty suddenly exclaims, launching himself at Jack’s back.

“Shits, we got brunch together yesterday and slept in the same Haus last night,” Jack deadpans, but he smiles after a moment and relaxes into Shitty. “Yeah, I know, buddy.”

Shitty kisses Jack's cheek. “I fucking love you man. I can't stand being so far apart all the time.”

Jack reaches back to put his hand on Shitty’s shoulder as Shitty wraps his arms around Jack’s waist. “You can come visit as much as you want. And actually bring your homework with you.”

“I feel like this should be a fine? But Jack and Shitty aren't dating?” Holster stage-whispers.

“Bro we’re fucking soulmates leave us alone,” Shitty yells, a bit too close to Jack’s ear.

“What??????”

“BRO WAIT WHAT?”

“BRO WHAT THE FUCK BRO WE LIVED WITH YOU DUDES FOR TWO YEARS AND DIDN’T KNOW THAT?”

Lardo looks at Ransom and Holster skeptically. “You didn't know? Come on, Shitty slept in Jack's bed. Naked. With Jack in it.”

“Oh my gosh!! Are you guys platonic?? I mean, I think you are since you're not dating or anything but I don't know you could be dating and like we just didn't know,” Chowder babbles, “Or like maybe you're not dating because Shitty’s not into heteronormative labels on relationships. I know he's said that a lot. And like, that's what he says about Lardo, and--”

“Actually, boys, Jack’s soulmates are what we wanted to talk to you about,” Bitty interrupts.

Derek’s confused. Beyond confused, actually. Jack and Shitty are soulmates? Which means that Shitty also has multiple soulmates like him, Dex, Chowder, and Farmer? And Bitty just said ‘Jack’s soulmates’ so Jack has more than one soulmate too?

“Go on, living room,” Bitty commands.

Derek fumbles his way to the couch and sits in the middle. Chowder sits a respectable distance away from him, but Dex sits reeeeally close. Like, their arms are pressed together close. Bitty and Jack stand in front of them, also really close.

“Jack and I are dating. We're soulmates,” Bitty says.

“Wow, ok,” Dex says more calmly than Derek would have expected.

“Oh. Cool,” Derek says, just as Chowder jumps, gripping the couch and smacking Derek in the process.

“YOU AND JACK?!!” he gasps. “BITTY, OHMYGOSH. CONGRATULATIONS? HOW LONG?? OH GOD YOU GUYS NEVER DID ANYTHING IN MY ROOM DID YOU?? THAT’D BE LIKE MY PARENTS HA--I’m not going to finish that sentence because it's gross but GUYS!!!”

Dex smiles fondly. “I'm sure they didn't bone in your room, Chow. But somebody else did.”

“Dex! Dooooon’t!!!” Chowder whines. “Jack and Bitty are _right there!!_ ”

“I thought having multiple soulmates was supposed to be super uncommon,” Derek says. He doesn't want to dwell on Chowder and Dex flirting in front of him.

“It is, but Samwell just seems to be a place where lots of people do,” Bitty responds.

Shitty appears then. “Actually, I have a theory that everyone in the world has three potential soulmates, but most people only meet one of them. Example, Jack, Nursey, and Chowder all have three soulmates, but Lardo, Ransom, Holster, and Bitty only have one so far, and Dex and I both have two.”

Derek chooses to ignore that Jack has three soulmates. If he doesn't want to talk about the third one, no one should pressure him to do so.

“That's so cool!! Shitty, you should write about that or something!!! After you finish school though, because I know you have a lot of work right now,” Chowder tells Shitty with as much enthusiasm as he does everything else.

“Maybe I will, bro.”

* * *

So Dex has a problem.

He and Nursey are getting closer, and maybe a little more understanding after spending Christmas together, but it's just not enough for him. He wants to fall into Chowder’s bed at night and Nursey be there too. He wants the four of them, the boys and Farmer, to all go to Annie’s together instead of him and Chris going and Nurse and Farmer going separately.

He wants to introduce Nursey as ‘my boyfriend, Derek,’ to his parents on Family Weekend. Which is rapidly approaching, so it doesn't seem like that'll happen.

He tells Chowder, because he and Chowder actually communicate unlike some people. That's his biggest problem with Nurse, communication. He and Chowder have the Healthiest Communication. Farmer and Chowder do too. Hell, Dex and Farmer understand each other and talk regularly, and they're not even soulmates!

He's running out of ideas, so he decides he's just going to confront Nursey and hope for the best.

He waits until he knows Nursey doesn't have class and isn't with Farmer and goes to his favorite tree. It's where Nurse goes to clear his head. He says there's something about sitting on the ground that helps him breathe better, and just think. It's so fucking pretentious to Dex, but he knows it's where Nurse will be.

He's writing furiously in a leather bound notebook when Dex gets there. “Yo, Dexy,” Nursey says without looking up. “Something you need?”

Dex huffs out a short breath. “I'm going to talk and you're going to listen, alright Nurse?”

Nursey doesn't say anything, so he continues. “We don't get along the best, but we're fucking soulmates. I care about you, ok? And like, I know I don't get pretty much your entire life, and you don't get mine, but I'm kind of tired of the back and forth shit. I want to talk shit out. I want to know why you're the way you are, and I want you to get why I'm the way am.

“I feel like we got a little closer to that last year over Christmas? But it's not enough. I don't just want to be civil, I want to actually be close. Like, not friends close. I know you think I'm having some sort of weird internalized homophobia gay crisis thing, but I'm really not. I mean, like, you've seen me with Chris. No gay crisis happening here.”

“I think I get it,” Nursey mumbles. He closes his book and looks up at Dex. “Like, I accused you of being super privileged. And that just fucked everything up between us. I get it, I grew up with certain privileges that you didn't because my parents have money, but you have privileges too.”

“I've looked up a little bit about that? Like, microaggression and shit,” Dex tells him, voice small.

“That's…actually kind of cool that you did that?” Nursey stands up. “We can like, talk about it some if you want.”

“Yeah, ok. What else have you had to deal with?”

“Blatant racism, for one. Not like, ‘oh what are you??’ but like being treated as less than, at school, out walking in my home town, and especially playing hockey. I don't need twenty billion dumb ass hockey players to tell me that black people don’t usually play hockey. I know.

“And there’s Islamophobia even though Mama’s not even really religious. People see a woman with a Hijab and go ‘she's oppressed and I feel the need to tell her that!’ even though it's her choice, and they don't care that there's a kid with her, they just start screaming. I've gotten death threats, and, Jesus, one time, I left the house in a skirt and then regretted everything I did that day.”

“Wait, are you like...trans? Nonbinary?”

“Yeah. Nonbinary. Transphobia fucking sucks, too.”

Dex hums. “Yeah, I know.” Nursey looks at him funny; he feels like this is it, it's now or never. “I'm trans.”

“Oh, dude, I had no clue. Uh, thank you for trusting me with this moment? And like, me too? But I'm not like--I mean, I'm nonbinary so I'm trans but I guess not in the same way? If that makes sense?”

“You're floundering, Nurse. You sound like me,” Dex laughs. “I get it. And nonbinary is still trans.”

(In the words of B. Shitty Knight, “Fuck anyone who says genderfluid people, agender people, and enby people aren't part of the trans community. Fuck ‘em.”)

Dex thinks about the GoFundMe his parents set up for his mastectomy. About telling his parents he was changing his name to theirs but keeping his last name. About his grandparents on his bio dad’s side just fucking off and out of his life when they found out. Sure, he and Nurse obviously had very different experiences with being trans, but this was one way they could relate, for once.

“What, uh, pronouns, do you prefer?”

“He/him is fine. Are your parents supportive?” Nursey asks.

“Oh yeah. My dad cried when I changed my name. By the way, my parents are coming for Family Weekend. My name is William, and so’s my dad’s, so in my family, he's Will and I'm Liam.”

“So I'm meeting your parents?”

“If you want to,” Dex sputters. “You don't have to, but it'd be cool if you did.”

Nursey plants a hand down on Dex’s shoulder. “That's fine, Poindexter.”

“Dad hasn't said anything about it yet but I think they're bringing at least one of my sisters. They want to surprise me.”

“Do they know about me and Chris?”

“They do. I have family I don't want to tell, but it's not my parents or any siblings,” Dex assures him. “I was hoping I could introduce you as my boyfriend and not my soulmate that I'm super awkward around.”

“That's chill,” Derek says and then immediately looks like he wants to take it back. “I mean yes. Good. I would also like to be your boyfriend when I meet your parents.”

Dex likes the sound of that. Maybe he doesn't have a problem after all.

* * *

Farmer’s a little caught off guard when she gets to Annie’s for her and Derek’s weekly coffee date and Chris and Dex are there too.

“Did something happen that you guys want to tell me? Does Chowder have _another_ dumb hockey boyfriend?” she asks when she sits down (next to Chowder, across from Nursey). Derek already has her chai latte, and slides it across the table to her.

“No, I just thought it would be nice to all go out together,” Derek explains. “Although. C, do you want another dumb hockey boyfriend? Because, like, I'd be down. We _are_ soulmates.”

Farmer tries not to grin too big. She knows Chris has been waiting MONTHS for Derek to make a move.

Chowder, on the other hand, beams. “Yes! That! Is great! I want to date you!”

“Damn. Christopher Chow has mad game,” Farmer drawls. “Two boyfriends and a girlfriend? How'd you do it?”

Chowder turns red. “Well, you would think the braces would get in my way, but I'm pretty good at eati--”

“Stop talking now you're ruining the sweet innocent image I have of you in my head,” Derek cuts off. “You can't just say shit like that.”

“Chill, Nurse,” Dex says.

“Yeah, Nurse. Chill. Chowder’s a big boy, he can have sex if he wants,” Farmer agrees.

Derek looks distressed. “Don't tell Bitty. It would break his heart. Chowder is his precious angelic son who can do no wrong.”

This? This is fucking nice. All her boys are happy, and Farmer’s happy too. “So, anybody’s parents coming for Family Weekend?”

“Mine are,” Dex says.

“Mine said maybe next year,” Derek sighs.

“Jack and Bitty will be here, does that count?” Chowder asks.

“Yes babe, Jack and Bitty count,” Farmer laughs. “Do I get to meet the Poindexter’s?”

“I'm. Um. My last name is Poindexter but my parents are Shepherds,” Dex corrects. “I kept my biological parents’ last name. I wanted a piece of them to hold onto. My sister did too. Keep their last name, I mean. But yeah you can meet my parents too. Chowder and Nursey are going to.”

“When are they getting here?” she asks, trying not to dwell on something that's making Dex feel awkward.

“Tomorrow, actually. They’re staying in a hotel not that far from campus.”

“Didn't you say you thought they might bring a sister or two?” Derek inputs.

Dex nods. “I think it'll be Shannon.”

“That's your twin sister right? Do you guys look super alike?” Chowder inquires.

“If you're asking if her ears are as big as mine, yes,” Dex replies.

“No! That's not what I meant at all! I guess your ears are pretty big but that's not a big deal!! You're cute. I like your ears.”

Derek reaches across and ruffles Chris’s hair. “C, chill. Dexy’s just chirping you.”

Yeah. They're all happy.

* * *

They play against Colgate and kick ass. Dex is in amazing mood when they come out of the locker room, Chowder notices. They meet up with Farmer, and start walking toward Jerry’s. They're celebrating their win with Dex’s parents, over greasy diner food.

They're a block away when someone yells “Liam!” and Dex’s eyes light up.

He runs, past Farmer and Chowder who had been slightly in front of them, and jumps into the arms of a middle aged Black man. “Pop!”

There's a slightly older white man with the man Dex is hugging, who has dark hair streaked with gray.

“Jerome. Don't keep Liam all to yourself,” the older man chastises, trying to pry Dex off of the man who’s name is apparently Jerome.

“Sorry Dad,” Dex laugh-cries. “I'm just really happy to see you guys.” He unlatches himself from Jerome and hugs the one he called dad.

There's a girl running up behind them; she's literally Dex with longer hair. “Hey, I know we're being super dramatic and extra, but some of us are wearing heels and can't move as fast,” she huffs. This must be Shannon, Chowder thinks.

“Shan!” Dex gasps, throwing himself at her.

“Hey Liam,” Shannon says softly. “I missed you. I know it's just been since the summer, but I hate when you're not at home.”

“Um,” Nursey coughs.

“Oh! Right!” Dex untangles himself from his sister and turns around. “Dad, Pop, Shannon, these are my soulmates, Chris Chow and Derek Nurse, and their soulmate Caitlin Farmer. I'm dating Chowder and Nursey. And Chowder’s dating Farmer, but Nursey’s not.”

Chowder's a more than a little surprised. When Dex has talked about his parents, he never mentioned that he had two dads.

“Nice to meet you, kids. You can call me Will,” Dex’s dad say, extending a hand first to Nursey, then Chowder, and then Farmer.

“And I'm Jerome,” Dex’s other Dad tacks on. “Liam talks about you all a lot.”

“Pop,” Dex groans. Chowder thinks it's sweet that Dex talks about him, and he already likes both of Dex’s dads. It's going to be confusing calling Dex’s dad Will, though.

“Unfortunately, we don't have any baby pictures. Those are all with Liam’s grandma on his mom’s side,” Will tells them. “We do have some awkward middle school photos.”

“Please tell me Dex was emo,” Nursey asks, grinning. They all turn and continue on to Jerry’s.

“Well--”

“DAD NO!” Dex shrieks. Looks like Nursey hit a nerve? He's really good at doing that to Dex.

Once they reach the restaurant, the conversation has moved to how the four of them met. Dex’s dads both think it's hilarious that Chowder and Nursey just kept falling on and knocking over soulmates.

“How did you two meet?” Farmer asks.

Jerome smiles. “We played hockey together.”

“Honey. You're leaving out almost everything good about the story,” Will protests. “Ok. So, Jerome got picked on by some of the older boys on the team, and I waited until the locker room was almost empty and sat down next to him and said ‘Hey man, those guys are all douche bags.’”

“I was so amazed that he had just said my words that I looked up and blurted out the first thing that came to my mind,” Jerome continues.

Will lifts up his arm and shows them inside of his forearm. ‘You have really pretty eyes,’ is what his skin says. “It was sweet.”

“It was stupid,” Jerome argues. “Can you believe that? I just met the love of my life and all I could think of was that his eyes were pretty.”

This reminds Chowder of something, but he's not sure what.

“Babe, it's not stupid. I like that you like my eyes. It's better than you having to be stuck with douche bag on your body for your entire life,” Will counters.

“Here we go,” Dex and Shannon say at the same time.

“Yeah but that's meaningful? You were trying to comfort me?”

Will frowns. “Babe, it's meaningful that you thought my eyes were pretty.”

“I still think they're pretty!”

“You don't say it,” he mumbles.

“Chill? I don't have to say it. It's right there on your arm.”

Oh. Chowder knows what this reminds him of now. It's kind of adorable, though. Dex is just like his dad, and Nursey is scarily similar to Dex’s pop.

“Wow Dex, this is really weird,” Nursey points out. “It's like looking into the future.”

“What’s weird? What do you mean?” Dex fires back waaay too quickly and way too angrily.

Chowder and Farmer lock eyes. “Here we go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Have a bunch of hcs:
> 
> Dex:
> 
> Trans  
> Gay, demisexual  
> Foster kid  
> Two dads  
> Two brothers, four sisters  
> So much Anxiety
> 
> Nursey:
> 
> Nonbinary  
> Bi  
> Half Dominican, half Major Bag of Dicks (on his dad's side--and that's a shot)  
> One Domican mom, one Pakistani mom  
> Only child  
> Bad At Communication  
> Depression:) and abandonment issues
> 
> Chowder:
> 
> Demiboy  
> Pan, and polyamorous af  
> Has polyamorous parents!  
> Doesn't know which dad is his biological dad but it doesn't matter  
> Loves his sister so much  
> Totally fronting on this whole innocent thing  
> He a freak ok
> 
> Farmer:
> 
> Bi  
> Wants her boys to all be Happy  
> Sees Through Your Bullshit  
> Almost as enthusiastic as Chowder but doesn't even try to act all innocent, it just happens  
> Good and Pure  
> Runs an Aesthetic Blog  
> Anxiety but has that "I'm panicking but you're panicking worse so I'm going to Do The Thing and make sure you're ok" thing (me too)


End file.
